Vehicles used in the mining, other resources and other heavy duty industries, such as construction, typically far exceed the tare or gross vehicle mass of normal road going equivalents.
Such vehicles (e.g. rigid haul trucks (aka haul packs), articulated haul trucks, front end loaders, water carts, service vehicles, large cranes etc.) cannot be safely towed by ordinary (light duty) rescue vehicles such as standard 4-wheel drive vehicles because such towing vehicles do not have the very high towing capacity required to safely tow large mining vehicles.
Also, such large industrial and mining vehicles typically have pneumatic, hydraulic and electrical operating systems, e.g. air operated brakes, hydraulic drive and steering systems, that require a respective pneumatic, hydraulic or electrical supply before a ‘dead’ vehicle can be towed safely. For example, a pneumatic or hydraulic supply may be needed to release brakes on a large vehicle before towing.
Towbars for large industrial/mining vehicles are known. Typically such towbars consist of a long metal shaft of several meters length with connectors at each end to attach the towbar between the tow and towed vehicles.
Some towbars used by tugs/tractors to tow commercial aircraft have wheels to help support the shaft. However, such towbars can remain in the immediate vicinity of where they will be used, ready and waiting for the next aircraft to tow from or pushback to an airport gate or hangar. It is known exactly where they will be needed, and will be used regularly at the same places.
For mining and other commercial/industrial applications, it is not safe or practical to have towbars waiting around for their next use. The next vehicle breakdown could happen anywhere on a site or within an underground mine.
It would be beneficial to have a trailer that can be conveniently towed as and when required by a light duty vehicle to the failed vehicle, and then, incorporating a towing means, be connected between the failed vehicle to be towed and a tow vehicle to retrieve the failed vehicle.
Such a retrieval trailer is mobile and rapidly moveable from site to site to be used to rescue failed heavy industrial vehicles, thereby alleviating delay in waiting on a specialised towbar to be delivered or the potentially dangerous use of steel towing cables between vehicles. Steel cables can snap causing bodily injury, and because of their flexibility do not provide a rigid link between the towing and towed vehicles for the required control of the towed vehicle and safety during towing.